Excavator.



G. H. GREIMANNI- EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION 'FILED IuLY 3.19m.'

` Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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G. H. GREIMANN.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLLcATioN FILED JULY 3.1918.

Patnted Dec. 17, i918.

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APPLCAION FILED )ULY 3.1918.

atented Dec. 17, 1918.

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GEORGE H. GREIMANN, 0F GARNIER, IOWA.

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Speeication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 191s.

pplcation filed July 3, 1918. Serial No. 243,153.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. GREIMANN, a citizen of the United States, residin at Garner, in the county of Hancock and tate of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to excavators, and particularly to certain'improvements in the construction and mounting of the elevator buckets or shovels, and to means whereby the material in the shovel or bucket may be cleaned from the bottom thereof.

The general object Vof this invention is to improve upon the details of construction illustrated in my Patent No.1,217 ,7 52, granted to me on February 27, 1917.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an excavating shovel having a ref versible cutter applied to its active edge, so that the cutter may be reversed in case one edge of the cutter is damaged or becomes dull.

y A further object is to provide improved means for cleaning theshovel vand so mount the cleaner that it will yield in case it comes in contact with any hard substance carried up by the shovel, thereby preventing the breakage of the parts.

A further ob `ect is to so mount the cleaner that it will always clean the shovels at the same place regardless of the position in which the shovel is placed, that is, regardless of the position of the endless element' upon which the shovels are mounted.

Other objects have` to do with the particularl details of construction and arrangement of parts, as will hereafter more fully appear.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings` wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation vof an excavating apparatus embodying the improvements of my invention; j

Fig. 2 is a `fragmentary top plan view thereof-with parts in section; v

Fig. 3 is a sideelevation, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the machine; Fig. 4 is a detailed perspect'v'e view of a brackethereinafter described;

Fig. 5 is af detailed perspectiveview of one 'of the scraper blades; j and 1 Figs.' `6 and 7 are views of one of 'the shovels.

Referring to the dra-wings, it will be seen that my excavating apparatus lncludes a main frame l0 supported at its forward ends upon steering wheels 11 and at its rear ends upon a caterpillar tractor 12. These parts may be of any suitable construction and arrangement. Mounted upon the forward end of the Vmain frame is the motor 13, which isoperatively geared to the driving wheels of the caterpillar tractor, in any usual or suitable manner.

Extending upward and rearward from the rear portion of the frame 10 are the beams 14, which are supported in this inclined position by downwardly and forwardly inotal support for the beams 17. Mounted upon the shaft 16 is the many-sided sprocket wheel 18 and mounted in slots 19 on the lower ends of the beams 17 is the shaft 20 which supports the wheel 21 over which the endless element 22 passes. This shaft 20 is supported for adjustment in the slots 19 by means ofthe adjusting screws 23, to `thus provide means whereby any slack in the endless element may be taken up. The shaft 16 is rotated by means of a sprocket wheel 24, driven by a sprocket chain 25 from a sprocket wheel on the shaft 26, mounted yupon the upwardly and rearwardly extend-V ing beams 14. This shaft in turn is driven in any suitable manner from 4a main driving shaft 27 operatively connected to the motor.

I do not, of course, wish to be limited to the particular means for driving the shaft 16 from the motor.

The endlessv element 22 is composed of links and extending outwardly from these links are the shovel supporting posts 28 disposed at intervals upon the endless element, each of these posts having a plate formed integrally with it and designated 29, this plate extending laterally on each side of the post and extending rearward and inward toward the endless element 22 to Vform. a shovel or bucket 30, as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 3. The forward edge of each shovel A30 is beveled as at 31 andattachedtothe under' face of the shovel is a cutter 32, theedgesfof which are reversely beveled as at Each of these cutters 32 is bolted to its respective shovel by means ofthe bolts 34,7 there being preferably two boltsfor each shovel.v Itis-tc t be noted that these shovels do not have side i walls. Mounted upon thebeams 17 are outwardly projecting supporting members V35,A

upon which are mounted the downwardlyy ex,-

tending angle irons 36, these angle irons be'- ing extended downward and forward at Y their lower ends, and carrying upon them v The supporting members are each connectedto the beams 17 by means of rods 38 having screw-threaded engagement in pivmountgupon each oli-,the upwardly and rear-v oted nuts 39 mountedupon the beams 17, the outer ends of these rods 88 being cranked as at 40 andsupportedin suitable bearings so that by rotating these rods'SS the supporting members 35 may be turned upon their pivots Lllgto thereby adjust the angle irons 36 and- 37 v`upward or downward and'nearer to or farther from the pathV of movement of the shovels... The beams 17 may be adjusted around a shaft 16 as a center, to thereby change the angle of the beams 17 by means of anysuitable mechanism, such as the cable 42, whichis attachedato the beamsv17y and extends upward `and rearwardand `overa pulley 43o-and thence 'to a `winding drum 44 mounted .upon an upright 45 and adapted to be rotated by means of a worm shaft 46.

` The shovels move upward and discharge as they turn aroundthe supporting sprocket wheel 18. These Shovels discharge upon ya transversely Y- extending endless carrier 47, mounted upon any suitablev rollers or wheels and drivehin any suitable manner, as `for instance by vthe beveled gear wheel48, `in turny driven by a sprocket chainfrom a sprocket wheel onthe shaft 2 6. v

For the purpose of positively cleaning the shovels and-discharging allthe earth therefrom, I provide pivoted Scrapers mounted at a pointopposite the shaft 16 and which are held inoperative position by means ofv a spring butwhich, in case of meeting any impediment, kwigllnyield 'so -as to permit the passage of the shovel past the scraper without breaking the scrapert InasmuehV las f the shovel hasfthefmedially disposed supporting post 28 itis necssary to provide two Scrapers oftheicharacter described and to this end I wardly: extendingbeams r14 thevertically disposed :supporting angle irons 49` and attach toeach `ojfthese angle ironsa bracket-50 having an elongated vertical base 51y bolted s tothecorrespondingangleiron49and this base-beingprovidedfwith the outwardly pro1 jectingrarm or bracket Proper" v52. Y To Ythis projecting port-ion 52 is :attached the shank 531 of the "scraper,- thisshank beingprovided at itslextremity with the.tr-iangularA blade 54. The' shank 53,;is pivoted upon the bolt 55 and extends rearwardbeyond the base 51 and at connectedY to ahook? attached to the upper end of the corresponding angle iron 49. In its normal position the spring 56 is relaxed and yieldingly holds the scraper in the posij tion illustrated in Fig. 3, with its triangular blade in` contignity to the bottom of the shovel, and in parallel relation to the path of mo vement 0f the shovel. It will be, of course, obvious that both of the blades 54 are'in spaced'relation to the path of movement of the bottonrof the shovel-so as not to strike the bolts 34 and the nuts thereon.-

. It will be obvious now that under normal circumstances the shovels will move upward until the posts supporting each shovel rise oppositethe shaft 16 when the shovels will coifmnencev to turn around the shaft and the scraperwill scrape allmaterialout of `the shovels onto' the carrier 47. If any hard ysubstance shouldl adhere to the' bottom of Ythe shovel which-would, if it engaged the 49, in turn attached to t-he beam 14 and that thescrapers always have the same relation tothe shovels without `regard to the vposition or angle ofthe beams 17 Thus the beams 17 might befin a horizontal positionv and the shovels, therefore, move yhorizontally, andvyet the Scrapers would have pref ciselythe same relation to the shovels that they have when the beams 39 aredown wardly andY rearwardly inclined.

f The operation of thismechanism willbe, of course, obvious fromr what has gone beT fore. The depth of cut may be, of course, regulated by regulating the inclinationof the supporting beams or boomA 17. The shovels, as-they move upward, scrape the earth from/the forward endvof the excavationk or trenchgand carry it upward and discharge it at the upper end of the forward flight upon -the carrier47. If or when theshovel blades wear, the cutters or scraper blades may be reversed, by simply removing the bolts 34 and changing. the position of rthe blade.

e I clamfr- 1. In an excavator, a supporting. frame, a shaft carrying a sprocket 'wheel mounted upon the frame, supporting beams mounted upon the shaft for rotation `around the `axis of the shaft, an endless element engaged by ment, vertically disposed members mounted upon the frame on each side of the sprocket wheel, brackets attached to said members and extending in convergent relation toward the path of movement of the shovels, angular scrapers disposed in proximity to the path of movement of the shovels, and shanks upon which said scrapers are moiuited, the Shanks being pivotally mounted upon said brackets, stops limiting the movement of the shanks in one direction, and springs yieldingly urging said shanks against the stops.

2. In an excavator, a supporting frame, a shaft carrying sprocket wheels mounted on theframe, supporting beams extending from said shaft and rotatable about the axis thereof, a wheel mounted at the ends of said beams, an endless element supported by said beams, a plurality of shovels mounted upon said endless element, means for rotating said beams around the shaft as an axis, to thereby adjust the depth of out, a shield extending parallel to the rearmost iiight of said endless element and downward to the lower end of said rearmost flight, a member supporting said shield and pivoted to said beams, a pivoted nut mounted upon one of said beams,

and a shaft connected to the outer end 0f said member and having screw-threaded engagement with said nut, the shaft being revoluble to thereby adjust the shield with relation to the path of movement of the shovel. Y

3. In an excavator, a downwardl extending supporting member, an en less element carried by said member and having shovels mounted thereon, a bracket pivotally mounted upon said member and extending rearward therefrom, a scraper operatively7 supported upon the bracket and extending vdown rearward of the path of movement of the shovels and below said path of move-f ment, and means for adjusting said scraper comprising a screw-threaded rod mounted upon the bracket and havin screw-threaded engagement with a nut ont e member, said rod being rotatable by hand to thereby adjust the scraper.y

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence of two itnesses. GEORGE H. GRE MANN. Witnesses:

F; E. 'Bmcxs'roxn W. H. RAMsAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents.A Washington, D. C. 

